Bourke Consulting Associates
We are a long established, global consulting organization. Our focus is on Information Technology systems for the discrete, configurable product sectors of the manufacturing industry. We provide independent, strategic and operational consultation to facilitate executive decision-making for planning and successful implementation of proven business practices. Additionally, for software firms, our company offers market-planning assistance. We have consulted with organizations ranging in size from small, privately owned firms to Fortune 100 companies.
The Manufacturing Industry Environment - A Key Perspective
Mass production of identical products - the business model for the industrial complexes of the past - is no longer viable for many industry sectors. Customers increasingly demand products customized to match their unique needs. To tower above the competition, companies with configurable products must master this demand driven environment. Companies determined to do so can take advantage of proven business processes and enabling software tools with a comprehensive Configurability Strategy - a term spanning the concepts of Mass Customization, Postponement, Personalization and Make -to-Order.
Configurability Strategy
Forward thinking manufacturing companies are exploring - and exploiting - the benefits of a comprehensive Configurability Strategy. The goal of this strategy is ... to provide customers a wide choice of product and service options - using fewer resources - to attain best-in-class competitive levels of customer satisfaction, quality, order fulfillment times and optimum profit margins.
A viable Configurability Strategy requires modular product design and configurator software. Moreover, to gain the maximum benefits, it also depends heavily on many of these major systems: Computer Aided Design (CAD), Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), and Supply Chain Management (SCM). Furthermore, a successful Configurability Strategy demands that Lean methodology be ingrained through out the company and its supply chain.